But, really, the dog comes first
10 on Tuesday
10 on Tuesday: the Soup Edition
Jan 10th
Soup! It’s what’s for dinner!
Carole wants to know what our favorite soups are.
I think soup is almost the perfect food: it can be made in advance and heated up quickly. Flavors mingle while it sits. Leftovers freeze well. It is nutritious and doesn’t have to be calorie dense. It is forgiving. (I make a lot of pureed veg soups with whatever is leftover in the fridge.)
(I’ve linked to recipes, but I use them as guidelines for quantities.)
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1. Miso – this one doesn’t get made in advance but it’s so fast, it’s a standby.
2. Squash (or pumpkin) – I bake more squash than I need. It freezes well and then I can have soup. I like mine gingery. With apples.
3. Broccoli – this is what I eat when the green veg are lacking in my diet.
4. Green Soup – The recipes I am finding on-line contain potatoes. I don’t use them but I guess they would thicken the soup. Greens (various), broth (veg or chicken), ginger, garlic, onion, and, generally, whatever is leftover in the fridge (celery? a few carrots? some mushrooms? peppers?) Blend with a stick blender. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
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5. Mushroom – I love mushrooms.
6. fish chowder – I’ve been experimenting with ways to eat the (leftover) frozen fish. This works.
7. fish curry – This is better. It seems harder than it is. The sauce is blended – so there’s little actual chopping.
8. chili – Does this count as soup?
9. french onion soup – This was Dude’s favorite.
10. tomato – Easy Peasy. No grill cheese required.
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10 on Tuesday: the Wishful Edition
Jan 6th
Today’s Yesterday’s Tuesday’s assignment was 10 Things you want to do in 2012.* And go check them out – people have some wonderful plans for 2012
1. My pre-holiday to-do list included over-hauling the bedroom, including ripping out the (last!) carpet, in one day, while Dude was at work (and he’s got an 8 minute commute, when the light is red.) I came to my senses and decided that a perky greeting of ”Hi Honey! You’re sleeping on the living room floor tonight, Christmas Eve!” really wasn’t in the spirit of things. So I wrapped his present and borrowed an air mattress.
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2. Knitting – I am currently managing these projects using the Last-in, First-out accounting technique. (This is when I pick up whatever is on the top of the pile, deal with it, and move on.) (Also, it helps to rule that there is no incoming stash.) (Ooops and Oooops.)
(The remaining pictures will show you the first 10 things I found, today.)
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This is my current travel project. I did not realize the color was pooling until I saw the photograph - it is less obvious in real life.
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3. a balloon ride – This is long overdue – we received it as a wedding present (Oct 2010, ftr.) 2012, the year to do it.
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Around June 2011, I decided to knit my way through the EZ book Knit One, Knit all. These hats are from that frantic time. All are stuck on some triviality - some minor knitting feat that I could not execute at the Time of Stress. And since I knit to relax, I casted on something else and kept knitting.
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4. a vacation (We are on schedule to aurora-chase in 2013 (assuming solar maximum …), However, this year is up for grabs.
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5. gardens and landscaping – I have a huge detailed plan in my head. As long as I’m doing the work, that’s not a problem.
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By the way, daffs are up.
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6. rejoin the local pool/fitness center (that translates to: start swimming again)
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A dear friend gave me this as a kit. It's been knitted and unfelted for at least a year. I'm afraid I'll ruin it if I felt it. This year, I'd like a little courage.
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7. blog (you know, actually when I intend to)
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These need to get blocked, ends tucked in, and into the mail.
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8. write for $$
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Brooks Fiber Farm Acero, for socks for a friend. (It is her holiday gift - I pointed her toward the sock yarn stash and said "pick". She's a knitter; it was cool.
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9. read – I have lists and lists and lists of stuff to read. I’m not trying to specify how many books to read (some of it is weighty stuff) but just that I want to read more than last year. (Of course, that would require knowing how much I read last year. Let’s just gloss over that, shall we?)
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One of those experimental skeins, purchased during the Time of Stress. I have no plans for it - just to test knit.
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10. draw more – since I currently draw very little or none, “more” will suffice as a goal.
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And this is why these pictures are so bad. I was working quickly, under duress.
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*I totally thought about changing this to “10 things that have happened since Tuesday” or “10 dogs I’ve walked since Tuesday”. But the pix for this post were mostly done, so I opted for being lazy. And the others deserve their own post.
Also – ever the project manager – the year really does not have 12 months available to me for working on my stuff. If I spend part (or all!) of January planning 2012, I’m all ready down to 11 months. Eliminate holiday and vacations, and I’m down to 10 months. So, the reason so many resolutions fail? A mismatch between real time and calendar time (that or a warp in the space-time continuum). It’s a rookie mistake. Maybe I am old experienced enough to avoid it this year.
Also: Do a little more each day than everyone expects and soon everyone will expect more.
10 on Tuesday: the Manic Edition
Dec 20th
Also known as: Ten Things You Have To Do Before (insert holiday here) This Weekend
You know, Carole is thinking about a menu and cooking. (That’s not even on my radar screen.)
1. cards
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I'm all topical this year.
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2. make more of this
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(This is me giving up on the wisiwig editing – that is: photo captioning is not working today.)
This is cotton yarn, finger knit into an icord for bows
because this pom pom just isn’t working for me
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Really, is that a sad pompom or what?
3. wrap more of these
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Note the cotton bow.
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4. cook these
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Looking for my favorite (healthy) apple bread recipe …
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5. find yarn for brother-in-law’s hat
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Oh Looky! One down!
This is Cascade Pastaza in the “light grey” colorway. (Sorry – the felines have absconded with the tag.)
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6. Knit hat for brother-in-law
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Of course, when I found the Pastaza, I found this Malabrigo Chunky (in the Paris Night colorway). And it is Chunky and will knit up faster than the Pastaza. But it might not be quite enough for a hat. Chunky would also be warmer. I am torn. Stripes?
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7. post presents (Let’s call them New Year’s presents, shall we?)
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8. one more reallyreallyreally late thing that I promised would be done for this weekend but that won’t be done but might make it for New Year’s. Maybe.
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And I can’t talk about it here.
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9. hope that Dude isn’t reading here
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10. redo the bedroom (including: rip out carpet (last one, yay!), paint, hang new drapes, replace stuff, air out the room so we can sleep on it – all before Dude gets home. From work. On a regular day when there are no robots in the afternoon. And there’s probably no work being done. And no one is in the building.)
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That last one might be a bit of a stretch.
10 on Tuesday: the Thankful Edition
Nov 22nd
1. yarn (without which, I might hurt someone; with which I make wonderful things and my feet are warm.)
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Garthenor Organic Pure Wool, 100% Organic Wensleydale, 50 g, D.K. from Wales.
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2. Knitter’s Review Retreat (without which, I might hurt someone; with which I make wonderful things and my feet are warm)*
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New from Spirit Trail Fiberworks: Holda; 80% lambswool, 10% cashmere, 10% angora (dehaired); 100 g/295 yds in the Toadstool colorway.
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3. The awesome** inspiring, fabulous and (uhm, wow, I need a thesaurus!) wonderful teachers at The Retreat
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The Painted Sheep, Painted Sock too; 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon; 100g/435 yds in the Wildflower Honey colorway. It looked like autumn to me.
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4. The awesome friends of The Retreat and Life (without which, I might hurt someone; with which I make wonderful things and my feet are warm)***
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Dirty Water DyeWorks, Bertha; 80% merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon; 100 g/435 yds in the Storm colorway
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5. Goody bags (with which to make wonderful things)
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It is so wonderful to go somewhere and get this fabulous bag filled with fabulous yarns and books and needles and such.
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6. Planes that do not lose my luggage.
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People, I have not checked luggage since … I don’t know. I am a firm believer in the one bag thing. I buy yarn and earrings as souvenirs (and not a whole lot of “stuff” for others. I’m not a big “stuff” person. if I see something someone ‘must’ have, I get it. I’m into simplifying, less clutter, sustainable.) So it dawns on me that in order to bring stash for swapping, I need to check baggage. (Or send the yarn, cans of pumpkin, and books ahead. But that would require some level of organization that does not exist in this house.)
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And then, because it is a knitting retreat, I’ve got to bring something I’ve knit (aside from socks). The lightest thing I can think of is a series of scarves. Don’t tell the one bag guy, but I packed one sweater (for the plane) and six different scarves for four days. (Details are coming, I swear. I’m having trouble getting pictures.)
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And I hand my bag over to the airline people. As it rolls away I suddenly panic: 'Wait! Wait! What about my precious handknits????'
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8. Spirit Trail Fiberworks door prizes (with which to make wonderful things)
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Decima, 80% Superfine Merino, 20% Bombyx Silk Lace Weight; 50 g/550 yds in the chalcedony colorway
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9. Room delivery on emergency yarn purchases****
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FoxFire Fiber, 90% Cormo, 5% Camel, 5% Tussah Silk; fingering weight, 1.3 ou/180 yds in the Lupine colorway
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10. home and all that this means***** (and rain — yay! I don’t have to water new plants!)
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I'm going the next time. Just you wait and see ...
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*No, that is not a typo.
** If I may steal a good line I heard: this woman has forgotten more about knitting than I will ever know.
***No, still not a typo.
****Yes, yes, I did. We can thank Rosi for this one.)
*****Even cleaning out the fridge before it walked off with the turkey.
10 on Tuesday: The Cold Edition
Nov 8th
10 Things I do to care for myself when I get a cold
1. Don’t get it. My method:
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The following are what to do when stressed, over busy, not sleeping and hanging out with 85 high school students
(and I won’t even link to any new-age, wacky herbal, non-scientific, folk lore sites; each of these is listed somewhere in WebMD‘s list):
2. Fluids (personally, I like lemon-ginger-honey tea)
3. Tylenol
4. Rest
5. A warm shower/aromatic steam (I like tea tree oil) will help with decongesting nasal passages
6. Switch up the fluids to chicken broth (home made, of course), red pepper flakes, ginger and tons of garlic.
7. Horseradish – I wouldn’t normally recommend this, nor have I used it, but I’m about to dig up the plant (it has finally frosted) and see what the harvest looks like. I know horseradish is a good decongestant.
8. snuggle a cat, by a fire
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or a heating vent
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10. with a good book
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11. or knitting
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12. or Dude. (But, you know, not you, you only get to number 11.)
p.s. I like it cold in the house, so he’s like a cat – except with a nice comfy seat, and he doesn’t try to hold the yarn.
10 on Tuesday: the Glut edition
Oct 18th
I was quite excited to see this week’s 10 on Tuesday topic: 10 Ways to Eat Pumpkin
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Aurora used to eat it naked. If I got out a can for another purpose, she was confused.
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I may need some ideas*
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- (my fav) Harvest Loaf Cake
- (Dude’s favorite) Pumpkin Pie
- naked, with butter and brown sugar (that’s not exactly naked, is it?)
- Pumpkin Cheese Cake – this has that cheesecake tang and a wonderful gingersnap crust.
- pumpkin soup – this one has onion, apples and chili relish – yum!
- curried pumpkin soup
- the ubiquitous pumpkin tureen This look marvelous as pure company cuisine. Everyone should try it once.
- ginger pumpkin soup (Pumpkin Soup! It’s whats for dinner!)
- pumpkin cookies
- pumpkin muffins (O.k. I admit the almond flour is a bit esoteric (you gotta get out more!) but try it: gluten free, no processed sugar, low carb!)
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I'm bringing pumpkin "something" to all upcoming holiday events. Just sayin'
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*Pumpkin was a staple of Aurora’s diet. Because she was a diabetic, I had trouble changing her diet on a whim. A few years ago there was a shortage of pumpkin – for months I scrambled to find pumpkin (or a substitute and keep her digestion in working order.) After the Pumpkin Shortage, I purchased my pumpkin by the case, after Thanksgiving when it went on sale. Twelve cases; one case per month. We have a little bit leftover this year.
10 on Tuesday: the Contagious! Edition
Sep 6th
Actually, the topic is Ten Things I’d like to Knit This Fall/Winter.
And Carole, sweetheart, you will be personally and solely responsible for the on-set of wide-spread mass startitis.
And also the reason I don’t get any sleep tonight.
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1 – 5. Knitting for Norma and Barbara (I have a soft spot for VT and MA)
For hats, I’m looking at this. And this. And this. And This, maybe.
And this scarf.
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6. My Knitter’s Review Retreat New Beginning Mittens (Rav) (which were first blogged here).
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8. My Fabulous Adventure Socks (I’ve separated the Two Toes of the Horrible Meeting and I am moving past the First Heel of the New Direction)
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9. My current shawl, on the needles.
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10. hmmmm … let’s see ….
10 on Tuesday: RomCom Edition
Aug 2nd
Today’s 10 on Tuesday Topic (on Tuesday, for a change): 10 Favorite Romantic Comedies
Sooooo … I googled it (as is my want; because I could recall of exactly one RomCom (Sleepless in Seattle)
and IMDB.com doesn’t have a romcom genre.
huh … neither does Netflix.
Mr Google did show me this. The first 7 of which I hadn’t heard and the remaining 10 wouldn’t load in my browser.
(Does anyone else have to work this hard to answer the questions?)
This is what Jane Q Public liked (ranked by lifetime gross at movie theaters).
So this is the first ten on that list, that I remember watching, with minimal commentary:
1 My Big Fat Greek Wedding – I remember where I was when a friend told me about this movie. I didn’t want to like it, but I did. It was wonderful.
2 Pretty woman – an upscale princess fantasy. It’s another one I didn’t want to like, but I did.
3. Sex in the City – women defining themselves by their ability to snare and keep a man. Yup, got issues with this one too. But it was fun.
4. As Good as it Gets – liked it.
5. Sweet Home Alabama – loved it. But is it possible to make a movie without making fun of some group of people?
6. My Best Friend’s Wedding – Wait! I think it is possible (to make a movie without making fun of some group of people)!
7. Sleepless in Seattle (#15 on the list – and that was the first one I could come up with??)
8. You’ve Got Mail (I’m noticing a repeat in cast members. Maybe I should branch out?)
9. Shakespeare in Love Loved it – despite the controversies.
10. When Harry Met Sally – isn’t this The movie to which all other RomComs are compared? Quintessential, feel-good, chick-flick.
(And I only had to go to #34 on the list. Whew. Where’s the dog?)
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p.s. Kudos to Dude for nudging me to get this done tonight.
10 on Tuesday*: the bumper sticker edition
Jul 30th
(I was hoping, to come home tonight Wednesday and get a little bit caught up. Then the garden ripened: 4 more pounds of zucchini, the start of 6 more pints of pickles (4 pounds), and tomorrow today I can start the tomatoes (10 15 pounds). We’re experiencing some effects from the heat wave (119 degrees will cook the zucchini on the vine) so I’m gonna be was busy for a few days.)
10 on Tuesday whenever I get it posted: 10 Best Bumper Stickers
This challenge made me wish I’d taken my own pix, over the years. And saved and cataloged each one for easy retrieval.
Instead I had to internet search.
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aaaaand moving off the dog stickers:
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*I’m voting for a do-over.
10 on Tuesday: The Beach Music Edition
Jul 19th
I started today’s 10 on Tuesday quest with the usual routine. (That would be grousing: ”Ten what??? I don’t know anything about music. Or music on the beach. I’m IRISH. I don’t hang out on the beach – I sunburn. You can’t hear music while you’re swimming anyway. Ipod’s aren’t water-proof… I listen to the sounds of the waves and screech of gulls stealing my sandwich.”
Being, however, stubborn determined to participate, and resourceful, I thought I could google it.
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And what do you know? There are lists of beach songs.
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Unfortunately, I recognize few of them (Gawd my music vocabulary is pitiful!)
This made me google yarn songs. Not so much.
What about knitting songs?*
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httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLgCh7GELtw
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By then I was bored. What about songs about dogs?
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Wait. Some of these I actually recognize.
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Ten Songs about Dogs (that I recognize):
(That would be canines, not promiscuous men or any other unflattering synonyms for man’s best friend.)
10. The (now) politically incorrect: How Much is That Doggy in the Window – Patti Page
8. Hound Dog – Elvis Presley
6. Blue – Peter, Paul and Mary
5. Old King - Neil Young
4. I Love My Dog – Cat Stevens
3. Old Blue – Layne Brooks
2. The Dog Song – Nellie McKay (a TED video!)
1. You and Me and Dog Named Boo (I used to sing this to Aurora as we were going to pick up Bella for a walk. There’s no actual proof – it’s not like I would let anyone hear me.)
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*Full disclosure: There’s an Australian song “Click go the Shears” – music here and lyrics here.
And a number of parodies, the most famous here.
